We thank you so much for your generous support over the years!  Your contributions however small they may be make a lasting contribution to palliative care in Uganda!

Our appeal this year is to ask for your support towards services of a volunteer, buying a breeding pig and training for a palliative care nurse.

Support a volunteer

Volunteers are an integral part of the Palliative care service at MPCU, they give practical, psychosocial, spiritual and practical support to our patients and their families in Mulago and now Kiruddu and Kawempe hospitals. For £10 you can pay to facilitate the services of one of the volunteers for a week.

Ronald has worked with the MPCU volunteer team for 3 years now. He says; “I have dedicated my time, knowledge and skills in helping the terminally ill patients who are in too much pain and almost dying. I dedicate 3 days a week to offer psychosocial, spiritual and practical support to these patients.   Still so many times I have worked with patients who have no carers and I have to offer much time in helping them with services like collecting medicines for the pharmacy, taking them for investigations like x-rays, scan and helping them with physical exercises if needed. I also work with service providers in the hospital such that I am able to link my patients to them in case they need those services. Again in some cases patients are discharged from the hospital and are referred other health facilities near their homes where they can continue with medication so I do follow up on such patients to ensure they continue taking their medication”

Donate a pig 

We are also starting our new pig farm project so as to provide a sustainable source of funds for our pastoral and social support programme. This is an exciting new venture as we try to achieve sustainability. For £40 you can donate an adult breeding pig to help us kick start the project which will go on to provide the volunteer programme with long term funding.

Train a staff member

Building capacity within team members is vital if we are to see palliative care develop within Uganda. For £300 you can provide a scholarship for one month of a palliative care degree for a team member.

Esther received a five day link training in 2012 by the MPCU team and has since then been working on the surgical ward as a link nurse, giving generalist palliative care and referring complex cases to the MPCU team. In April this year she joined the MPCU team! Esther says  “Before I had the training patients who were dying could be neglected as the staff thought they could do nothing for them. But since the teaching I realised there is much I can do for these patients. I can allow them to die in peace and though they were suffering they had a smile on their face because of the care they received. Since working with the team I have learned much more. Before on the ward most of the times I would have worked alone but now I work as a team who have much knowledge that I can learn. I learn how to council them, how to care for all patients with life-limiting illness. It has changed me. It has changed my attitude.”

Esther now needs to enrol for an advanced training in Palliative care so she can provide better service to her patients.

Please consider supporting by clicking on our support button and donating online https://cairdeas.org.uk/get-involved/donate or by cheque to
Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust 15 Kings Cross Avenue Aberdeen. AB15 6FS.  Drop us an email operations@cairdeas.org.uk so we can acknowledge your gift and also send you progress update and a photo!!